Under the Same Skies
by St. Walker
Summary: A medley of 100 Percy and Annabeth drabbles.
1. Before

1. Before

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><p>Before this story begins, before the world of these two people begin, with all their hardships and all their love and pain and renewal and revenge and change and breaking, I would like to tell a little story, that fully begins this bit of life you've decided to read.<p>

It was a late night, and Annabeth had been sleeping fitfully, continually throwing herbody around. She was twelve, young and forgotten (or as she assumed) by her family. She looked out the cabin window, the light darkness slipping under shades, curling to the edge of her bed where the night's light pulled at her. She was not afraid of the dark, but she did not like to stare into it, waiting for sleep to gain hold.

It would not take long, but for a moment, the restlessness held on, she let it hold on. It was Summer, it was cool some days, hot others, and she found a tired waiting even in the free months, when all her friends were at camp with her, when she did not have to hide during the winter, training and training until she could take care of herself. It was all so tiresome, but she could not fall asleep.

And then it was there, it was in her mind, all the sleep in the world, all those hypnotic dreams she had been waiting for to keep the pieces of reality out for a moment, just a little while longer.

She dreamt and dreamt. She could not remember most of it when she awoke the following morning, but when she closed her eyes she saw a pair of ocean green eyes, viridian forests of the sea shining brilliantly. She had never seen eyes like those before and every time she blinked a gasp filled her lungs, utter surprise in wondering who held these beautiful orbs.

Throughout that day her mind was scattered, very odd for an Athena girl who held her ground and kept her gaze on the same ideas for weeks. But she could not shake those eyes. It's said, when you dream of someone, you've met them before. It's also said, though rarely, that a person you dream of may appear in your life, may matter in your life. And that night, while she watched the rain clouds falling outside the borders, there was a loud shaking in the mortal world and, after she could not sleep, she ran to the big house. Her odd feelings of needing to go there worked out perfectly.

She was speaking to Chiron when they heard someone collapse on the porch. The door was open and outside laid a satyr and a boy. The boy's black hair fell in front of his face and, when she scanned his body, she found his eyes, his ocean green eyes. Her heart fluttered for a long moment before he fell unconscious, both of them unaware of how much they would mean to each other.

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><p>AN:_ Be aware, this is a collection of moments. Yeah, I'll jump around. More often than not, I won't even have a relative time period. Most of them will be after The Last Olympian, or in a time period where they are still friends. This is from The very beginning._

~ExP


	2. Smile

2. Smile

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><p>She had something that, only recently, had begun to set Percy's brain on fire, his heart racing until he was lost in her, her eyes, her everything. Only when she poked fun at him for getting lost in her (though she never knew that part) did he frown and find a swift comeback to throw her.<p>

Originally, it was friendly. It was just happiness on her, a little smile curling in her lips. She held their friendship up with her humor and her lips tugging at a grin. She threw it out when laughing, or when she found something worth looking at for the longest time (architecture perhaps). She dropped it randomly in conversation when his words sounded unintelligent and she had to point out his mistakes. It was found on her face, sometimes, when heard his mind whispering words he wished to have kept to himself, little remarks of her beauty. Most strongly, it appeared when his hand brushed hers and for a fleeting moment their veins were connected.

Other times, it was covered in tears. She had been thrown a layer of pain, a deep unsatisfying disappointment in herself. He would be there, with his words and his awkward body holding her, like he wished he had done many times before. She would let her ink dribble down his chest, leaving stains of her life fading. He would catch her eyes. He did not have to smile, he did not have to speak. The heart beat was there enough, the words would mean nothing. She grinned weakly, sobbing still.

Sometimes, she filled it with malice. She dropped it at his feet with a sharp comment, attempting to hurt him just because she wanted to make him feel what she always felt. How his comments about a sandy-haired boy hit her where it most hurt, in her heart. She grinned for a short time before fading back worrying pain he must've felt, knowing he was the one she should've worried about.

Then, it became loving. He looked at her smile and his heart pulsed, his mind broke, he thought only of her and how many steps it would take to capture her smile in his. He wanted to run up to her and steal her away, take her to the sea and carry her to the edge of the horizon where they could be free from eyes and murmurs thrown. He stared at her grin, he watched her body shine as brightly as the eyes she carried through storms, the hard grays she sometimes threw at him with the same love as he had now. He wanted her smile, he wanted all of her happiness. He wished it was from him.

He did not know it was all from him. She was the one whoe blushed at the the thought of him, loved his jokes and stupidity that caught her trembling lips. No tears would fall with him around, with his smile just as bright.

Whatever the case of her smile, for the longest time, he only watched. He kept it in his closed eyes, he laid it among his greatest possessions, the memories of her grins. To him, it was enough to see her smile once a day. The night was less lonely with a memory of her happiness.

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><p>AN: _Another drabble type piece of writing, all about smiles. woot! Review please?_


	3. Annoyance

3. Annoyance

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><p>It all began early in their time together, when they were still getting a feel for their friendship. It was their first quest together, really their first anything together. Annabeth watched Percy with a wary, sizing him up constantly, wondering how he would react. Later he would tell her it was creepy, but right now she saw it more so as her strategizing, trying to understand her teammate as best she could.<p>

Not that she would want to be his teammate. Athena and Poseidon never mix and their children would never fit. Even though they had once worked together, the two gods could only tolerate each other, never understand or reach a basic meter of friendship.

It worked like that for Percy and Annabeth. Gods, he was so annoying sometimes. His constant questions, his inability to give up, his pure stupidity and complete recklessness would someday get him killed, or worse Annabeth killed. She found him to be annoyance. He also thought the same, her attitude irritating him, her belief they could never be good friends, her pretty hair. Ugh. Finally, when they were still looking for the master bolt, something set him off.

They had been walking through the streets of LA for hours, trying to find some sort of entrance to the Underworld. LA was all they had been, all their answers supposed to be found there. Percy had been running through the streets, his mind growing angrier and angrier with every step, his heart growing colder and colder. He was searching for his mother. Forget the master bolt, he needed Sally Jackson back, and nothing could heal the wound.

Then she began whistling. It was the same tune she had been murmuring for the past five days, whispering it under her breath to no one in particular. It had been gradually finding a place in Percy's head. But he couldn't take it anymore. He finally snapped, after days and days of being run down. He took his anger out on her.

"Would you fricken' stop?" He shouted, turning to face her, his anger growing.

At first she was shocked and the whistling left her lips. "What? Why?"

"Your whistling is so irritating!" He said, throwing his head in his hands. Grover moved away from the two of them, reading both of their emotions and knowing this would blow up. "I can't stand that noise!"

"Well sorry," She said hotly, her face turning red with anger and embarrassment. "I didn't know I was such a problem, helping you out on this quest and sometimes humming to keep my mind straight."

He huffed loudly. "It's not you, it's just the whistling, it's becoming an annoyance."

"You're an annoyance seaweed brain!"

"Because I pointed out what I don't like about you?" Percy said, shaking his head in disbelief. "Sorry if you have a flaw. Oh no, you whistle sometimes. Get over it, it's irritating."

"You're full of dirt!" She shouted, wishing she could strangle him just to knock some sense into his head. "You're annoying as well! What about the clicking of your pen? It's so loud!"

He blushed. "I have ADHD, I'm fidgety."

"Yeah so do I which doesn't give you a right to freak out on me. You're annoying."

He frowned again. This would never end. "You're more annoying. Everyone hates a whistler."

"Oh yeah?" Annabeth asked, raising an eyebrow, her anger simmering to pure annoyance. "Try listening to your pen click for once. I swear, you're lucky I'm so patient or I would be jumping on that stupid sword."

"You're so annoying."

"Get over yourself."

"Stop whistling."

"Stop clicking your pen."

"Fine."

"Fine."

In the beginning, Percy and Annabeth were never great friends. But good enough to know these words thrown between were never to each other but to the world around them. The friends and enemies that brought anger, that's where their annoyance began. So they took it out on each other. Who cares. They were kids.

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><p>AN: _I tried a more __fiction dialogue approach to this. It's actually going nowhere, really. but please review!_

~ExP


	4. Fingerprint

4. Fingerprint

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><p>She keeps it on her skin when he is away, all his marks and fingerprints. They're all over her body, crawling up her arms, becoming tangled in her veins, cupping her face before a ghostly kiss, and running through the blonde curls of her hair. She can even see them in the reflection of her eyes.<p>

It began on one of the many last days before camp ended. Afternoon was turning into evening, while Percy and Annabeth sat on the porch, wistfully gazing at the nearly abandoned camp, the pavilion empty and the cabins slowly being closed and closed, growing grayer. It was not the last day, but summer was nearly up. The days were ending when Annabeth was only a shout away from Percy.

They were young and stupid though their hair had grays in it. Thalia was gone to the eternal life of a huntress, and Grover had left to search for his lost god. No one wanted to speak of the other boy and his fall, but Annabeth's eyes were sharp and still wondered of the lightning scarred son of Hermes. They both knew he had survived, but while one of them silently wished he had fallen a little farther, the other wished he had never reached the point of falling.

She as silent, watching the remaining kids step outside the boundaries, home, to another school year. The clouds had disappeared though a thin layer of inviting mist had fallen over the strawberry fields, rolling on into the horizon where the sun met the sea. The great expanse beyond them was turning multiples of colours, running from reds to oranges, to pinks to yellows. The stars would be out soon, the constellation of a friend running through the sky, her bow eternally chasing, never running from anything as fear was not her game.

Percy sighed softly, his palms pressed against the wooden rail. Annabeth sat in a chair next to him, her gaze frozen on the sun. "Look, Annabeth, about Lu—"

"Percy," She said, the annoyance in her eyes spreading to a frown, "I really don't want to talk about him, okay?" It was hard enough she would be leaving the East; she didn't need this from him. Though perhaps it wasn't the East she was afraid to leave…

"He left Annabeth," He insisted. "He's gone, you saw his eyes, his tricks. He's not with us anymore."

"Percy!" She shouted, "He's not like that, maybe he was tricking them, maybe…"

But even as she said that, her eyes were falling and her anger decreasing. She looked out at the sea again. Percy followed her gaze, silence falling. They let the world pass between them, time slowing to a stop as the world disappeared and all they had left was each other and the sun soon to be replaced by the moonbeams.

He glanced at her stone face, the etchings of sadness running over her skin. She was tired, she had taken so much in the last week. So much of her had fallen apart. No matter how together she some times looked, her mind was broken, her heart was broken. It was then that Percy's heart controlled his mind for once; the beating in his chest was feeding his mind, feeding his thoughts of her and only her. It was quicker than usual and one swift turn of her eyes to his could make him explode. She was upset and Percy could be there for her.

He reached out and grabbed her loose hand hanging over the edge of the chair. She jumped slightly at the cold touch of his fingers running down the back of her hands. She did not pull away; she did not want to pull away. She let him curl his fingers into hers and their veins mesh together, their skin sewn together. She could feel every callous, every scar on his fingers, every little bit of his hand. She felt so complete even though she had no idea what the feeling pushing at her heart was then.

Annabeth needed this; she needed his hand. For an independent girl who prided herself on staying strong for herself, she knew if he pulled away suddenly she would crumble. For the longest time, with his palm pressed against hers and the sky shining with brilliant constellations, she felt peaceful and finally supported. All those people who had thrown her away or disappeared, he was not one of them. She could feel it in his fingertips.

They sat like that in the silence. He did not try to comfort her or explain things, or even try to argue against her. Percy comforted her in the calmest way, the closest way he could think of. He held the farthest point of her body, the edge of her entity reaching out to nothing until he grabbed her hand. Then, it was only reaching out to find him in the dark. His heart beat faster and he only hoped she felt the same.

But the night grew on and soon sleep was falling upon them. He slipped his hand out of hers, against her silent protests, and whispered to her softly, "We should go to sleep. I know I'm tired."

"I'll probably be gone before you wake," Annabeth remarked, as if she was trying to challenge him. She had not yet risen from her chair.

Percy stood with his arm on the railing for the longest time before turning back to her and murmuring, "well if that's true, here's something to remember me by."

He reached to her hand and placed his thumb in the middle of her palm, resting it there for a moment. Her eyebrows furrowed, sending him a wondering glance.

He pulled away and whispered, "It's my fingerprint. So you'll always have my mark on you. And when you're back in San Fran you can look at your palm and know I'm only an iris message away."

He did not know it yet, neither did, but his fingerprints would soon populate her entire body and quite a large portion of her mind. And she would wake up some days, lonely without his body close to hers, and would look down at her palms, smiling at the prints of him, all the memories and bits of life he had placed on her skin. She would take those prints and try to remember which was which memory and would later reminisce with him about all these moments.

He would grin with her and always bring up his favorite. "Remember when I first gave you my fingerprint? I think it meant I was giving you my love, but I didn't know it yet."

She would beam brightly and follow up with the same whisper as always: "I took your fingerprint and placed it in my heart, to keep and save until we knew love."

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><p>AN: _So yeah, fingerprints. rather enticing yes? Read and review please, that would be rather nice. _

~ExP


	5. Waiting

5. Waiting

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><p>She hated waiting, she really did. Annabeth, as calm and collected as she was in battle, her impatience sometimes got the better of her. Sometimes enough so that she fought with her best friends or hurt the boy she had slowly been falling for. But if she had to, and I mean really had to, she could wait. Days, weeks, millenniums. She could wait for few things.<p>

So she waited for the boy, waiting for his eyes to come back. She saw them in her dreams again, she felt his lips against hers when she was walking along the beach, which is why she hadn't walked there in a week, at least not in daylight. Tears followed her everywhere, sadness growing in every place she looked. Memories of his voice and laughter and all those stupid things he used to say, they all populated her mind and where now becoming a part of the landscape. Soon, she was crying in the Athena cabin or would even sneak into the Poseidon one in hopes she could see him somehow. She could not last.

They said he was dead, and no one could find him, like he had fallen off the face of the Earth. Chiron could not even look her in the eyes without finding sadness and deep depression not worth bothering. They said he was dead, but she didn't believe it, she couldn't believe it. First boy she kisses and he disappears. She would run to Zeus if she had to, she would find him. Whatever it took.

Soon, however, she began to think he might be dead. The fits of crying only increased, the deep, incomprehensible sadness growing darker and longer. Had there ever been colours? Her mind felt black and white. Only when she thought of him did the sharpest blues and greens spark out, especially in his eyes. She would steal him from Hades then, if Zeus could not help.

Every night, when it was dark and sleepy in the camp, She would rush outside in the cold warmth to the beach. Tears would be streaming down her face before her feet even touched the ocean, before she could even feel his entity.

Originally, she had come down to wait for him, hoping he would pass out of the sea on a ship and stand there smiling his stupid grin and throw her the stupid nickname she couldn't forget.

But then, when she believed in his… passing, she would go out there to feel him, to have him as close as he possibly could be.

She would let the water crawl above her knees, her body reaching farther and farther out. A splash of his eyes on her skin, the sea green, the wispy curl of his grin, the laughter and whisper of his voice pulsing against her feet. She could feel him, all of him.

She wanted so badly to be with him again. Once, she even contemplated drowning herself so she would be in the sea forever with him, whether it be his spirit or his whole life force. But, no matter how hard she tried, she could not believe he was fully dead. She could not give up, not yet.

After a long while of standing and waiting, she would wipe the tears from her face and run back up to her cabin. Sometimes waiting was the hardest part. She only hoped it wouldn't last much longer. But she could do it for him. Annabeth would wait for him.

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><p><em>AN: Woo. Depressing. All right readers. Review please? That would be nice._

~ExP


	6. Luck

6. Luck

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><p>Percy considered himself lucky.<p>

It happened one day when he was sitting at his desk studying Algebra. It was not going well."x equals negative b times the radical over 4 a minus-Annabeth I don't get this!"

Annabeth was laid out upon his bed, her feet kicked up and her eyes engrossed by her latest architecture magazine. The window was open, the backstreets of New York City yelling in the distant air, passing through the clouds. It was peaceful to the two of them, even though Annabeth had come over hoping for an adventure, not being stuck inside waiting for Percy to finish his homework.

"You'll get it soon enough," She murmured, yawning silently. Sleep was catching up to her.

"No I won't," Percy said, running a hand through his hair. "None of this makes sense to me and I have a stupid test. All of this is shi-"

Annabeth, who knew Percy well enough to know this was him asking for help, walked over and draped her arms around his neck, leaning forward so her head rested on his shoulders. They were silent for a long moment while Annabeth read over his book until she whispered, "This is troublesome?"

He groaned openly, wishing for the summer air to come soon enough. Final Exams were slowly killing him. He leaned his head back, listening to the dull thump of her heart through her shirt. "Yeah it's hard! I don't get it!"

Annabeth twisted her head to give him a look of smirking disbelief and proceeded to explain all of algebra to him in a matter of moments. He listened intently (or tried to), but the the thump of her heart and the whisper of lips murmuring on and on soothed him. Sometimes, it felt as if he was listening to the ocean crash back and forth on the beach, rolling over his hands.

He turned his head so his lips were on her cheek. Her breath shook for a moment before exhaling quickly and restarting her tirade of mathematics. He felt her cheeks growing warmer against his lips. Moving to her ear, Percy whispered, "Hey Annabeth."

Her mind thrashed wildly in determination to stay focused but her lips would not listen. "What?" She whispered, barely being able to let the words out.

"I think I'm good with the math," He mumbled, his hot breath sending shivers down her spine.

She turned to face him, their noses touching, her storm eyes connected to his ocean ones. "Oh do you now?"

"Yes," He said before pressing his lips against hers.

And soon her fingers were in his hair and his hands were grasping her hips and her legs were around his body and he was carrying her to his bed and soon he was on top of her and they were kissing and he was running all over her skin and she was whispering nothing into his lips.

But Annabeth pulled away and said, "Wait wait! You have an exam tomorrow, you need to study."

Percy sighed, resting his head upon her chest, listening to the excited beat. "I'll be fine, I understand it."

"Do you really?" She asked, on eyebrow raised.

"Yes!" He said, but they both knew he was lying. She chewed her lips, Percy's eyes silently pleading that she understand. Annabeth sighed loudly after thinking for a long time.

"You're damn lucky you have me, you know that?"

He grinned. "I know."

His lips were on hers again and he was running all over her skin and her legs were around his body and they were in love and he knew he was lucky.

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><p>That was nice. I enjoyed it. Lucky Percy. Read and review please.<p>

-ExP


	7. Y

**A/N: Sorry it's been so long, but I finally read The Mark of Athena and I realized I love this couple and I'd like to write about them. So. Here it is. Let's hope for more.**

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><p>7. Y<p>

"Looks like a child of Poseidon is finally smarter than a child of Athena. The tables are turned!"

Annabeth glanced up from her new book, taking a long, mildly amused look at her best friend, Percy. His hands were raised in victory, his eyes wide, and a grin on his face. She smiled unconsciously. After years of knowing him, she still felt that little flutter whenever he was happy. Now, she turned her eyes to the scrabble board in front of them, looking over the lines. "What are you talking about?"

"I've finally beaten you in scrabble. After years, the time has come!" Percy said, exuberance radiating from his body. It was true, at least half. Every time he had ever challenged her to scrabble, Percy was automatically destroyed. Even though they both had dyslexia, giving them a disadvantage with anything word related, Annabeth was still a more read person. But, to make it easier, they did allow Latin words just in case Percy surprisingly knew one. But even with this, Percy had lost every single one. 108 to 0.

Annabeth looked over the word he had produced. She laughed. "Seaweed brain, that isn't word."

For a moment it was silent as Percy slowly registered what she had said. "Wait... No. Yeah it is. I'm sure."

She shook her head. "I am certain it isn't. Completely."

It was his turn to shake his head. "Annabeth, seriously. I know this is a word! I know!"

"Really?" She replied, raising an eyebrow. "You think I'm going to believe 'yapok' is a word?"

Yes!" He shouted, clenching his hands. "It's the only 'Y' word I know!"

She couldn't help smirking. "The only 'Y' word you know in the world?"

"Yes!"

"What about yellow?"

"...Well."

"Or you?"

"Ah!" Percy said, waving his hands. "You, of course! I love you."

For a moment they were both silent as they realized what he had incidentally said. Then, two faces turned bright red, and they both noticed how hot it was in the room.

"I love the word you," Percy quickly said, fixing his previous statement. "Yes, that's what I meant."

"Well," Annabeth said, regaining control, though something warm rose in her heart for a moment, "if yapok is a word, what does it mean?"

"It's an amphibian opposum of South America," Percy replied, not missing a beat.

Annabeth's eyes widened considerably. She expected to have stumped him with that question. "Wait how do you know that?"

Percy's face darkened. "Bad trip to the Natural History Museum in D.C."

Annabeth pursed her lips to keep from laughing. "Well... I guess that is a word then, unless you're lying which you wouldn't do, not to me."

"Well maybe not during something as important as this," Percy said, only seconds after realizing what he had just said.

Annabeth narrowed her eyes, but didn't feel like pushing that statement and instead said, "Well I could still play a..."

She trailed off. She had nothing. Shoot. Shoot. Shoot. He was going to win. Finally, after years. She looked back at his triumphant face and sighed.

"All right. You win this one."

"WOO! I'm the best in the world, I beat the smarted girl in the universe! Come at me!" Percy yelled, jumping up and down on the couch. "YES!"

Annabeth sighed again, turning back to her book, but not before mumbling, "You know the only person other to beat me other than you is my mother. Would you like to face her?"

He quieted down quickly after that.

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><p><strong>Well that's that. I basic fluff piece, just being cutesy. I hope you liked it. Please Read and Review! Well, thank you!<strong>

**-Nick**


	8. Drowning

8. Drowning

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><p>Annabeth would attribute the feeling to drowning, and Percy would agree, shaking his head sadly, his hands shaking. Even after years, even after a wedding and a baby, even after the end of all those wars and finally a time to grow up, they could still feel the strange energy and painful burn of scars gone by, years and monsters lost in a pit of despair, deep in Tarturus.<p>

It hadn't taken too long to get out of Tarturus, that's what their friends said, that's what Nico tried to remind them all the time, whenever they were lost in the darkness again, but he also knew what they knew; down there, time did not matter. It was either you die or you don't. Complete darkness at all times, how could you even know what time was down there, lost will all the monsters they had ever faced? It was utterly mind encompassing. Sometimes Nico would look at them smiling with Charlie, their little baby girl named after Beckendorf, and wonder how they could stay sane, how could they not only survive mentally? It was awe-inspiring.

When asked, Percy would always respond withe a broken smile, trying to delve into it but also trying not to think too deeply, therefore bringing back memories he and Annabeth had repressed to stay hello. It was like looking at a ghost when he did this, his mind more scarred than his body, though every once and awhile you would see the flash of a white line on his neck where an empousa "finally tried to get me." He didn't remember surviving, he didn't remember the scars. And sometimes, when he woke up and saw Charlie in her high chair, and Annabeth cutting her food up, he closed his eyes for a moment and recounted all that had brought him here. Sometimes he just wasn't sure if he was alive or not, maybe still wandering through Tartarus with Annabeth as teenagers again, his mind having put up a psychological shroud to keep him from seeing what was real. Or maybe, the gods took pity on them and let them die, bringing them to this perfect world where nothing would ever hurt them again.

He would look at Nico and say, "We were together, I think that's all that mattered. I think if she had died I wouldn't go on. We talked about that doors of death crap all the time, but if she died, I wouldn't give a damn about closing them. Yet, she was there with me and every time I turned I could see her frightened face, her hand tucked in my mind. Shivers would always run up my arms and I would think, damn. I have to be strong for us. So I wouldn't let myself lose sanity."

_Doesn't mean it didn't happen._

Annabeth would attribute the feeling to drowning. When asked how they stayed alive, she would laugh, and then cry. Her thoughts would go instantly to the times she began to pull her hair out, or when she would punch Percy uncontrollably wishing he had never fallen. Screw being together, she should've died alone. She unconsciously reached to touch her ginger ankle where Arachne's web had burned her skin, pulling Percy down with her. And then she would remember the one story she never told anyone, the one she and Percy would both think of at the same time, their eyes connecting for this unstable moment of complete sadness, a disappointing remembrance, a moment they wished they could both forget.

Annabeth, one night (or day) while traveling through the pit, finally lost her resolve, all of her sanity was gone, quick like the loom of a weaver, burned to dust. She took out her knife and began to cut at her skin, aiming for chest, for the heart. Percy knew immediately that she wanted death more than another moment in here and he could not let that happen. He reached for the knife, fighting her for it, yelling at her. No nicknames, just impassioned anger. And with one swift move, hatred exuding from her body in this fractured state, her knife brought a thick line across his neck, blood pooling quickly. She sobbed then, she cried in his arms until she could not hear anymore. She let him lie about the scar every year after that, vowing to never to hurt Percy or herself ever again. That scar, the one she had to look at when they would sleep next to each other, was a cold reminder of what she once was, what she could never be again.

"It was like drowning, all the time. The moment we fell down, the moment before we left. It was like we were underwater at all times, gasping for air, struggling to find strength in the dark air. And you can breathe down there, it's not a problem, but you always feel as if you're about to lose all the air, and you have to reach for it. We chased after something that was there the entire time, but we couldn't quite grasp it."

They had nightmares every night for seven years after it. Sometimes they would wake at the same time, sometimes on and off, sometimes they wouldn't sleep at all. But one night, two years after Charlie was born, they heard her crying in her room, sobbing about a monster she had seen. Suddenly they stopped dreaming about Tartarus, they stopped being afraid. They realized they couldn't be afraid anymore. They had to be strong for Charlie now.

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><p><em>Well that was increasingly sad, and painful to write. But I wanted to terribly. Thank you. Read and Review please.<em>

_-Nicholas_


	9. Family

9. Family

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><p>Annabeth was well aware of his form on the wall, his body transferred to the shadows, his fingers tickling the windowpanes with each step he took, crossing closer to the bed she lay upon, sheets wrapped around her toes, cocooning her, yet she had crumpled the comforter on the cream carpet. Annabeth welcomed the Spring warmth with a smile, deciding withing days she would tuck away their winter comforter, exchanging it for a lighter, silkier blanket that covered toes but did not bring sweat to foreheads, sighs, and late night restlessness.<p>

Just then, a stridulous sound cut through the air, echoing from Percy as he stepped on the edge of one of Annabeth's architecture books. "Oh Hades!"

Annabeth smiled to herself, pulling the covers up over her face, even though she faced away from him and the dim hall light. It was late, she was sure of it and for hours she laid in bed, thinking and rethinking. Or maybe it had only been ten minutes. She wasn't sure.

Percy pressed his hands into the bed before leaning down and kissing Annabeth's forehead, causing her to open her eyes and turn over slightly. "No," He said, "don't move one bit."

With that command he laid down next to her, pulling the covers out from her toes despite her protests, and wrapping white around the both of them. Then, pressing his body up against hers, he wrapped his right arm around her, letting it linger on her stomach, and leaving the left one to act as a pillow. "Hi."

"Hi," Annabeth responded, pressing her barefeet against Percy's shins. Everywhere over he was warm, his fingers leaving imprints of smooth energy on her porcelain skin. Against her neck she felt his breath brushing her curls. She felt home only because he was there.

"I wanna say something," Percy mumbled into her back, leaning forward against her, searching for the perfect position where their pieces fit.

"Say it then," Annabeth replied, only seeing dimness. However, behind she heard his entire being leaning and wandering, searching for a lightness to explain what he wondered.

"I..." He trailed off, pulling at her springy curls. Through the movement of his toes, she felt the nervous tension. "I uh. Well. I've been thinking about life and work and us and mostly us, well, I want to have kids and such."

Silence perused their apartment, slowly leaving while Annabeth delved into every possible outcome. "What."

Percy laughed anxiously. "I want kids. With you."

"With me?" Annabeth asked, unconsciously pointing at herself.

"With you."

Annabeth turned over, her faces inches from his. Looking into his eyes for the first time that night, her heart fluttered, ready for anything he said. But even so, Annabeth needed to wonder a bit.

"Percy, we're not even married. We can't have kids yet!"

He didn't miss a beat. "Let's get married then."

Annabeth opened her mouth and closed it again. "When?"

"Now," Percy said slowly, before registering the thought and smiling. "Yeah, let's go out and get married right now. New York City Courthouse I'll call ahead."

"It's nearing midnight, Perce."

"So... I shouldn't call ahead?"

Annabeth shook her hands, shuddering. "Why are we even talking about this? I thought we wanted a nice marriage in a chapel that all our friends could attend, and we'll have a beautiful reception, and you haven't even proposed yet!" Annabeth added, seething.

Percy laughed. "Well will you marry me?"

Annabeth grinned tiredly. "Yes, you idiot."

"Good," He said, rising. "I'm gonna call ahead now."

"Wait, Percy." Annabeth mumbled, looking at her hands. "I still want to have a huge, big dreamy wedding, with the dress and everything."

"We'll have two then. Just for fun."

He rose, reaching the door and looking back suddenly. "Annabeth?"

"Percy?"

He looked at her, taking in every detail, knowing that he had found what he wandered for. "I went to a park nearby after work and I sat on a bench, watching toddlers and parents alike playing on swings and teeter totters and all that, and I thought suddenly about you and me in a year or two playing in the surf of a spring beach with a little girl holding our hands as we lift her over each wave with a little giggle. I'm twenty-five, but I don't want to wait any longer to show the world how important you are to me. Marriage comes first, I know, that's one commitment, but I'm sure I made that the first time I kissed you. Do you want coffee or something before we go?"

Annabeth searched his gaze to see if there was any hint of humor, but there was complete blissful happiness and love in his eyes. "I'd rather like some tea."

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><p>That was quite fluffy. It would be wonderful if anyone who read this would review! So please try to get this to 50 reviews and I will write the next chapter! Thanks.<p>

-St. Walker


	10. Cotton

10. Cotton

**Author's Note:** I don't usually do any author's note but I'm pleading now. Anyone who reads these, can you please review? I love these stories to bits and I'd love to hear feedback. Thank you!

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><p>He's too nervous to speak. There is nothing really he wants to say.<p>

Except practically everything.

She sits with her hair tied up, curls falling, her fingers pulling at strands and braiding absentmindedly, lost in thought as they sit in a pizza parlor. Granted, it took a lot of excitement to get this booth, Percy practically kicking a small group of thirteen year-olds out while Annabeth gazed the opposite way, sizing up the menu. But after that, and a small display of wit passing between their smirks as they commented critically on the overall atmosphere of the restaurant, everything's shot. They sit, poking silently at their gradually cooling pepperoni, looking everywhere but each other.

It was, quite noticeably, a rather painfully awkward first date.

"I don't know," Annabeth mumbles, more to herself than him, "maybe after the war and all we just expected too much of this. Or maybe we aren't really compatible."

He groans in response, running a hand through his hair. "We never were compatible, not really, anyway. What, Athena and Poseidon? We're basically opposites."

"Opposites attract," He adds, wincing at the overused statement.

"More like opposites distract," She says, nibbling on her crust throughtfully, her logical side asserting itself. "Maybe after all this time, we've done so much together that we don't have anything left."

"That's not true!" He protests, his mouth suddenly dry. "We haven't knit! Or talked about... Cotton."

"Cotton?"

"My shirt's 80% cotton."

Annabeth's expression gives nothing, her lips resting on the side of her glass, water rushing onto her tongue. _Gods_, even that is more stimulating than this conversation.

Percy's neck flushes slightly. Something's wrong and he has no idea what. He has all these interesting and normal things to say; how even though he knows she almost forget about the date tonight and had to rush out the door when he buzzed, as she was too focused on rebuilding Olympus, he loves her hair tied up in a lazy, quick ponytail, a few curls left in front to frame her face; how he heard this hilarious joke from Travis the other day and, no, he promises it isn't too vulgar and she'd enjoyed it, probably; how whenever she looks away he wants to mentally hit himself for not saying something, even if it would be a rather kelp-headed comment. But all that comes out is... Cotton. and Knitting.

_Knitting_.

"There's gotta be something better than cotton," He mumbles, pinching the bridge of his nose.

She smiles wryly. "Cotton doesn't sound too bad anymore. Cotton balls, shirts."

He shakes his head, wringing his hands. "No cotton is stupid, and everything here is just stupid, and I don't even like this pizza that much, and this whole date is stupid because yesterday was fine and I talked to you like any other boy would, but here I can't talk about anything except how my dumb shirt is 80% cotton and I don't even like this shirt that much, and I don't even know how to knit so what could I add to this conversation anyway - "

He almost expects her to hit him, or something. Really, just slap him across the face for dithering on about this poor subject of stupidity like - well - an idiot. He wouldn't mind much either. His lips are dry, and his face burns from losing his facade of easy-going confidence, and he can't seem to shut up. But he's more than glad with what she actually does, taking it upon herself to reach across the table, grab the collar of his 80% cotton shirt, and roughly press her lips against his.

"Well," she breathes against his lips, after a moment of stiff kissing, "better or worse?"

Percy doesn't even know how to respond without either his legs buckling or his arms forcefully pushing Annabeth up against a wall to _really_ kiss her, but somehow he releases a few words. "Oh, definitely better."

"Well," Annabeth repeats, pulling away for a moment, giving him a once over. She agrees with a smirk, and, just as quickly as she pulled away, she kisses him again, leaving a more chaste impression on his blush. She lets go of his collar. He knows _this_ is what their first date is supposed to be about, not cotton.

After a second or two of leaning back against her chair, proud of her latest work, she grins. "All right, let's get out of here. First date, second round."

She drops a few bills on the table, standing up.

"Where are we going?" Percy asks.

Her eyes flash silver. "Back to your house, Seaweed Brain. We're gonna learn how to knit."

Without looking back to see if he'll follow, as they both know he will, she walks to the door, taking his heart with her.

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><p><em>Please please review. It would mean so much!<em>

-St. Walker


	11. Unassuming

**11. Unassuming**

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><p>I noticed something the other day, when you and I were outside your cabin, leaned up against the wall, ignoring the brittle whispers of feet stumbling around inside, attempting to catch a glimpse of the boy from Poseidon pressed neatly near the air of their Cabin head (you). I laughed silently, pleased by the slight crinkle of the corners of your eyes as a grin docked itself upon your lips, letting the sails fall helplessly in the wind (I'm not sure why, but recently I've begun using ships and oceans and sea things for metaphors and I sound completely ridiculous, but that's okay; you like me ridiculous). I reached for your hand lazily, tucking it in my own, a pulse set alive but the significant contact, and you stepped back onto the balls of your right foot, bouncing timidly, separating yourself from me with a hesitant expression, almost worried I would become too aware of you pulling away and frown with such involuntary anger, but I only raised my eyebrows, surprise wandering through my eyes.<p>

I realized then how unassuming you are. I know, anyone who said that would be called insane, as shown by your constant poise in battle as you nimbly dodge, duck, dive, and... dodge enemies, the hot metal of your unsuspecting dagger turning cries to dust. You are tall, you stand high and proud when rallying our troops next to me. And in classes or walking me to school some days, you are brisk, always looking back at me with the small smirk, yelling, "Come on Seaweed Brain, don't you want to be on time for Math?" To which I politely groan, jogging to your side.

But here you are, when we are close, our breath tickling each other. And here you are looking small with your head turned down slightly, eyes darting around, silver, passionate eyes, trying to catch something you cannot,. Your shoulders are pulled back, your fingers loosely running over mine in anxiety, and you have this strange obsession with standing awkwardly, the crook of your knees dancing as you try to find a suitable position. And I realize, as you glance up at my eyes, searching for any sense of judgment, my opinion makes you feel small.

I don't know why. But it makes me smile all the same, a little bit too much, perhaps, but I don't care. I don't, I never will.

I kissed your forehead then, my lips brushing your skin lightly, a strange smile lighting up your face. I felt it in the shift of your skin, taut and unreliable in hiding your emotions. You curled into me. I held that entire moment for a fraction of a second too long, loitering in our happiness for as long as possible.

I wanted to say something beautiful, you know, about how fantastic you are, about how you shouldn't be overanalyzing every second between us, how you shouldn't stand with your shoulders slouched and a fearful heart. But I couldn't, I didn't know how.

Now here we are, at the wedding reception for my mother's and Paul's. They are happy, I can see them louning in the warm glow of love. I look towards you, several feet away from me, standing next to the wall, trying not to glance at me every few seconds. You wear a yellow dress, and in your fingers you hold light blue petals from the bouquet thrown from my mom's hands, your eyes lit up with determination and apprehension, as if you wondered if the age old legend, older than the gods, would come true about the receiver marrying next. You untangle your hair in one fluid motion, your curls falling in front of your face with exasperation. You fiddle with the petals nervously. It is delicate nfgervous, like the wind, so quiet and beautiful, rushing over my skin and into my smile. I cannot help but fall in love with you.

We have yet to dance tonight, your feet always crafting a route away from mine when I approach, but this time I catch you staring at me, and I know you cannot run this time. With a nimble quickness I did not know I possesed I glide over to you, taking your hand away from your side. You look through me, I know this from the many times you've done so before. You are nervous. It is the bouquet? The setting? Or is it us?

I shake my head. I cannot think like that. Instead I focus on you, taking your heels, pleated dress, and shaking curls to the center of the dancing floor. With a fluid motion, I turn you to face me, your hands landing in their prescribed places.

We move silently for a bit, Your head on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry I've been so distant," You say into my neck. It tickles and I try not to succumb to that.

Instead I shrug. "I understand."

"You do?"

We twirl, continously.

"Sure. I noticed it during the summer once, the way you slouch your shoulders and turn off to the side when I am around. Something about me makes you feel small."

You shake your head. "It isn't that it's just. There are times when I am around you and I feel as if you are looking too hard at me, like scrutinizing and observing things I don't want you to see. You make me self-conscious."

I smile, thinking of how to phrase this correctly. "That's because I love you."

You start suddenly. "What?"

"I love your unassuming beauty, the way you stand there, turning over stones, thinking, or puncturing holes in the clouds, and you don't even notice how strong and beautiful you are when you are doing exactly what makes me happy, and that's being you."

You do not say anything for awhile, but then I feel you smile again. "Since when did you learn to talk?"

I laugh and know that is you saying it back.

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><p><strong>Author's Note: I want to thank all of you for reading this and possibly reviewing! So if you can, please review! It can only take a minute out of your day, so please review!<strong>

-St. Walker


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